Actions Speak Louder Than Words

On August 15th, 2012, I reached a pinnacle in my frustrations with a local Las Vegas gun shop and a sponsor of this website. As many of you will recall, I sent out an email asking for feedback from each of you. The vast number of responses I received was completely unexpected. To date, nothing I’ve ever posted or emailed out has received such a huge response. Best of all, only 2 of the replies were rude and/or out of line. I greatly appreciate the feedback and would like to thank each of you who responded once again.

As for the issues at hand, I’ve taken the following actions:

The company in question was removed as a sponsor effective 8-15-2012.

All links to their website were also removed.

The owner of the shop reached out and invited me in for some 1 on 1 time to discuss my “views” in more detail. We sat down a few times to hash things out and try to get everything corrected. With a couple of exceptions, my thoughts and concerns were well received. In some cases it was simply a matter of policies and procedures not being properly followed while in other cases, there were more significant issues that needed to be addressed. I was assured that things would be different and that the company was very interested in repairing the damage that had been done to our relationship. Over the last couple of weeks, I’ve watched to see if any of the words I heard would translate into actions. I’m happy to report that they have.

Besides my own experiences, I’ve also talked with a few others who had similar concerns with said shop. Those same people now tell me that they have seen a difference as well and they will continue doing business there and give me feedback about those experiences. To be perfectly honest, it sucks that things got so far out of hand that I felt the need to take the actions I’ve taken. The whole reason I started this site was to give back to the shooting community and, in most cases, positively promote various gun businesses. On the flip side, a lot of positive came out of this ordeal and at the end of the day, the company’s latest actions have spoken louder than their previous words.At this time, I believe their voiced intentions are honest and I do not feel the need to publicly “out them.” I have added their website back to my links area. Assuming that my experiences and those I hear about from others continue to improve, I will entertain the idea of re-establishing them as a site sponsor in the future, keeping in mind that actions speak louder than words.

This process has upset at least one of my other sponsors and although I am concerned, this website was not built for or by sponsor dollars. It was built as a hobby and learning experience for me and my readers. Any sponsors who wish to separate ties over this are welcome to contact me and do so. The little bit of money these sponsorships put in my pocket is not worth the aggravation nor the questioning of my integrity if/when things go wrong. Obviously I understand that nobody is perfect but when problems happen, it’s best to actually fix them rather than simply supplying lip service. If you run your company that way then I, as a consumer, will respect that and so will my readers.

I am looking at adding a rating system in the comment area where each of you can take more of an active role in identifying the shops you prefer to deal with. Of course, listing the not so good experiences there is also a good thing as it brings attention to issues that can often be fixed. Although we all like the giveaways, I encourage each of you to participate more in the comments and upcoming rating system so that your fellow readers have more to go on than just my 2 cents.

Thank you again for all the feedback. It was instrumental in helping me decide the best course of action in resolving the situation. I’d also like to thank the store itself for being open minded enough to initiate the discussions that seem to have lead to the best possible resolution for all involved.

As someone who is new to your site and new to gun ownership, I would welcome the idea of a rating system with the local gun shops. Having some form of reference would help me quite a bit in my choice of patronage.

I’m glad you worked it out with the shop in question, but the rest of us do not have the means to expose shoddy business practices or bad service. I think your readership would be better served by your having left the shop off your list of sponsors and noted the issue on the links page.

You lost me. There is no notes section on the links pages for me to post anything like that in. You and every other reader do have the means to expose shoddy business practices and or bad service by posting comments on the store reviews in this site. That is exactly why the comments section is there in the first place. Also, the shop is off my list of sponsors.

Please re-read this post as it kinda appears that you did not quite grasp what I’ve already said and done.

No, I grasped it fully and I meant what I said. On other sites, the ‘fanboys’ of particular shops would attempt to drown out the negative report. As the site owner here, they cannot do so unless you permit it.
As for flagging a shop, you can either add a color (red/yellow/green) tag to the URL (connoting an issue with a particular shop) or add an asterisk next to the name (not in the hyperlink itself).

You couldn’t possibly have grasped it fully when you told me “I think your readership would be better served by your having left the shop off your list of sponsors” when the shop isn’t on my list of sponsors. Then you tell me to make mention of it on a links page that gets a fraction of the traffic as the reviews themselves.

There are no fanboys pulling that crap on my reviews here. I post a review, people read it and are allowed to comment. Those articles get picked up in the search engines, unlike the links pages, and more people see it. I’m not sure why you think doing something more complicated with less views would be better for my readers.

In previous emails and this comment, you referenced what “other” places have done. I’m clearly handling things differently than they did/do and you think it’s not enough? I considered adding a “Badge of Shame” to the writeups of the less than favorable shops. Instead, I’ve made the decision to encourage people like you to actively discuss and eventually rate the shops yourself. Yet you state that “the rest of us do not have the means to expose shoddy business practices or bad service.”

You have posted comments on 8 different posts. This is way above average as most of my subscribers stick to posting on the giveaways. However, you have only given input on one of the local business reviews. If you truly want to make a difference and do something beneficial for my readers and the local firearms community, take some time and post more comments on the business reviews. See if I cover up the bad experiences you have to share or if I let you speak your mind.

To be perfectly blunt, I don’t care what “other” resource sites do, especially when they are owned and ran by dirt bags who only care about the sponsor dollars.

When you said you added them back to your links area, I presumed you also added them back tour list of sponsors. I completely missed the part about you adding them (possibly) back to your list of sponsors in the future. I apologize for that.
As for chiming in on other reviews, I have not had any truly negative experiences with local gun shops. Some weird vibes at one shop, some unrealistic prices at a couple of others. I have seen clerks treat customers shoddily (lying, ignoring them, condescension) but having spent zero dollars at these shops, it would be hard to quantify ‘damages’.

I am new here, but I am glad things worked out with the local shop. I believe that the rating system will give all of us members a voice to sing of the good experiences, and to shout about the bad ones. This will help ensure every deal is a gets made wright.

Good for you 702, you provide a service to the community, you cater to the public, not to the sponsors.. Shops rely on you to spread the word, not the other way around.. Kudos for sticking to your guns.. No pun intended!

Glad to see you have helped the community just like you wanted, although it had to be done in a not so savory manner. In the end, they deserved it. It showed their flaws and they have kept their word in changing the way they deal with people. Now things will be better for everyone. Maybe if they persist in doing well with the local community, you could even sign them up as a sponsor again. Only time will tell.

I’m very glad that the issues are being worked on and that things are resolving themselves in a positive way. I know that we all appreciate your honesty and you sharing your experiences, and you did so in a very respectful, tasteful way. I have been avoiding the shop for several weeks because I have had negative experiences there too, but I look forward to giving them another chance.
Again thank you for doing all that you do to help the Vegas firearms community. It’s a very valuable service you provide. Your site is “the best go to” spot that we can all visit to learn about/be updated on about store/product reviews, awesome giveaways, informative articles and community events.

Since the initial email, I have purposely done business with the shop on two occasions and spent about an hour on the phone seeking advice. Partly because I’m Irish and need to see things for my fookin’ self, but secondly because I know a couple people there and wanted to see if things were getting better. It appears as though they have. My first transaction went as expected with no complaints. The job was performed at a fair price and within the time period promised (couple days early, actually). Just the other day I placed a deposit with them for a rifle for my daughter.

I used to manage a good sized crew (between 30 to 40 at any given time) in the car business and know that one “bad apple” can tarnish an otherwise stellar reputation. I hope that the previous issues have been thoroughly handled and those that were involved in your experience have grown. In our current job market, there are qualified people waiting in line who truly understand the concept of customer service.

Since the initial email, I’ve also had some work done there. I am very happy with the work. Like you, it was done earlier than expected and I even gave a $20.00 tip.

Time will tell how things go. They know you’re my friend, they know at least one of the other customers I talk with, and of course they know me. When you know who’s talking to who, it’s easier to focus on those people. Hopefully others will come forward and share their experiences and they will be positive too.

Here’s an email I received last night:

“How are you? I am one of you readers and it sucks that in a way a sponsor affects the way you voice out your opinion. But I’m glad you guys talked it out and changes were made, although I still would like to know which gun shop you were pertaining to as I have avoided most local gun shops like a plague for the same reason, but if this local shop really are true to their words then I would like to know the shop name so I could check them out myself and maybe they could earn my business. Thank you and more power to your website, as I love reading our honest reviews and opinions… God Speed…”

Forgiveness is good.To Forgive and to trust are seperate issues. I would like to give my business to shops that have earned my trust as well as the trust of others.If everyone does this the honest guys get the business and they have earned.I personally can’t sleep at night if I have done someone wrong. I guess some other people are ok ripping people off. It’s great to see someone turn around but I will continue to give my business to men that have earned my trust. Just my 2 cents for the good guys out there. I am from California and will be in town this weekend any reccomendations of shops ? God Bless

I admire the way this was handled. You expressed your concerns in the email to everyone but keep it there and didn’t make anything public on this site until you had spoke to them and had a chance to follow up. Most people would have written a bad review or just blasted them on their site. Sometimes it just takes an outside observer to let you know what you are doing is wrong and/or turning people off to your business…and that seems to have been what happened here.

I know some people do not agree with your viewpoint but as far as I am concerned, it’s right on. Had I made a post blasting the shop full on, things would have been MUCH worse and I believe I would have lost a lot of support. Although I may have initially felt better, the long term effects would have potentially been worse for myself and the shop. It’s usually better to find a way to work with somebody rather than against them. Sending that email out gave me some time to calm down a bit, gather feedback from those who matter, and in the end apply more logic to the resolution than emotion.